i must watch my diet. either that, young lady, other r exercise. peddle for 30 years to create the energy locked in a pound of uranium. meanwhile, parents can look on enviously while the kids have a ball. the fair, of course, has the problem of lost parents. day are brought to the shelters until their elders can be found. once they've been checked in, work amusingto themselves. there's been a run on crayons and drawing paper. wayward parents show up, everyone is happy and ready for more sight-seeing. lost children since the fair's opening, none has had to be sheltered overnight. offer a officials better solution. hold on to your parents, tight!

>> american history tv recently visited the macarthur memorial in norfolk, virginia. coming up next, old dominion professor timothy orr describes how world war i was different from previous wars and highlights some of the major battles. this introduction is just under half an hour. this time, i'd like to bring up dr. timothy orr, who will lead all of our sessions today. dr. orr is a professor of history at old dominion university and specializes in american military history and the history of the civil war era. in particular, he's written on the liveslization and of union soldiers. his latest research focuses on theisan conflict within officer corps and also a set of interests, u.s. naval dive bombing during the midway.f dr. orr teaches courses on history. dr. timothy orr.

[applause] 13, 1917, aber who had been off the front lines for a full year, received the iron cross, second class. one of 5.1 million medals the german army. he was not pleased. at first he admitted that the offered him some small sense of compensation for his services. but the more he looked at it, the more despicable the medal appeared. the day after he received it, he i was left alone, i had quite different thoughts from those that were in my mind before. jules elaborated, telling his reader that the more he looked it appeared like a stylus and the more it grotesque, ghastly

impression of the war's brutality. he focused on the colors, solid guilded with a sickly yellow edge. the more he began to imagine nightmarish colors he had seen on the western front, all things that he had seen were black, crusted in yellow. he had wrote, it seemed as if of cross were made splinters, black blood congealed with openw face mouth. strangled cries of hoarse voices. gangrene flesh. the thought unsettled him. to see all those black and yellow spots again. what fate wait for may bring. i am low-spirited and love the dusk. incidentally, jules did not have to wait long. four days later, he was killed. jules' jaded opinion of the

definedss of glory well the experience of the great war. the symbol of the iron cross took on two meanings. one, a symbol of courage and fortitude. emblem of the suffering and death. the medal, by design -- the a vision of the soldiers, those who remembered only the war's human cost. the final proof of the finite nature of human existence. way, the great war was like all armed conflicts. essentialzed the disparity between what the war actually was and what people wanted it to be. was unique inwar that contrary to other conflicts, the impersonal forces long toid not wait teach this lesson of disillusionment. humankind came to accept the emptiness of the war spirit, an transformation, given that the war occurred zenith of national

discourse. how can such a transformation quickly? i would contend that the sweeping forces of organization accounted for the speed with destroyed itself from 1914 to 1918. strategists were so well-prepared for this war that their plans accelerated the rate at which the usual restraints normally held back mindless destruction were broken down. orderrt, the emphasis on and organization produced the senselessness and chaos that marked the battles on the western front. a cursory survey of the military history of the great war, to the the ordinary fighter, gives one the sense that organization and disorder hand.and in when the great war began, it did not find the military planners flat-footed or even unaccepting of the globe's new conflict. years, both france and germany possessed precise, plans of invasion. elaborate plan.

a massiveegy entailed movement through belgium, network ofhe fortresses. of staffthe new chief greatly altered this strategy in 1914,ars before fundamental thrusts and its remained firmly in place. an french, meanwhile, had elaborate plan of their own. it involved a massive multiarmy intended to slam into the german left flank. of the twoeither nations felt a sense of unreadiness when the diplomatic so quicklyroke down in the summer of 1914. both offenses ran into trouble. the french assault ground to a armiesrst, its three coming to a bloody standstill.

the german offensive maintained longer. but it too ground to a halt just snorshort of paris. it received a sudden surprise. the commander of french forces from hised troops right flank to reinforce his left. thus arose the so-called race to sea. the series of leap-frogging moves by the germans and allies enemy's northern flank. neither side gained an advantage maneuvers but by mid-october they had run out of land. unintentionally, they created a stalemate, extending from the english channel in the north to the swiss border in the south. for the soldiers, the early wase of the war eye-opening, particularly in regard to how quickly they become demoralized when staring into the face of battle. one general joined up in august 1914, because in his words he

to be seen in civilian clothes. he told his parents he could not peaceful city anymore. the nation could not sit idly by. certain that he meant to die in a glorious cause, he dear father, mother, please don't think me cruel, but youould be a good thing if two would, with brave hearts, get accustomed to the idea that you will not see me or any of my brothers again. you if bad news does come, will be able to receive it more calmly. however, within three weeks, he had trouble squaring his glorious cause with the inhuman combat.f his first battle was long, loud and offered him no opportunity even see his foe. he said this ghastly battle is day.g for the fourth like most battles in this war, entirelynsisted almost of an appalling duel. i am writing this letter in a

grave-like hole. falling soare thickly that one may regard it of god if onercy comes out. he was eager for peace once to his parents. he said, yes, i can hardly believe it myself, but it is true. on my way to you and home. oh, how happy i am to see a again, instead of that world of horror. from thatst free secret dread that i should never see your world again. unforeseen obstacle should arise, i shall look into more.yes once unfortunately for him, an unseen obstacle did arise. was dead later, he from tetanus. those soldiers who succumbed to effects werely spared the grim horrors of the later years. but the opening months offered no easy combat, as the war

transformed into a bloody stalemate on the western front, sharp conflict took place on the side of europe. here the germans placed a single of russian path soldiers. the germanern front, army operated under the notion that it must stall for time until the western front was decided. oddly enough, it was here that the outnumbered germans masterful tactics. at the end of august, the german nearly annihilated the russian army. the russian advance made better against the austrian army. they brought this allied offensive to a halt by mid-december. just like the western front, the east was quickly transformed into a stalemated line, where the two sides jockeyed indecisively. although the eastern front represented near hell on earth

thenyone would want, for next two years, the warring powers focused on the west. by the end of the war, that fighting chopped up 7.9 million 5.6 millioners and soldiers attached to the central powers. deep entrenchments, land mines and elaborate bunkers, rendering frontal assaults entirely impractical. a german soldier described a into the useless foray so-called no man's land. a continuous whistle of bullets. on my right, another man was shot in the arm. got a bullet. so we lay behind a hedge. we were supposed to fire but no enemy. we went farther on, getting into complete disorder. and comradeseft falling in rows. still, we went on. suddenly, tick-tack. own machine gun was firing at our backs.

and that finished us. bitteringck, disappoint, grinding our teeth. then, from behind the last straw ofck, we heard the cries badly wounded comrades lying, still under heavy fire. comrades and i crawled out in spite of the fire but could not get them in. weeks later, i came upon them, overtrol, and had to crawl them, rows of dead bodies. growing rolls of body personally. he was killed soon after. throughout 1915 and 1916, the and central powers sought alternatives. something to break the stalemate. attempted mass artillery reconnaissance. still, none of these alternatives remodeled the the infantrynt of offensives, that breaking through the western front at some level a mass infantry attack across no man's

land. attempts tolied break the stalemate through mass assault began in the spring of not let up.y did every day, some small engagement occurred along the line. largest offenses came in 1916. they committed 1.2 german soldiers in the attacks against french. by the end of the struggle, the french admitted to suffering 337,000 casualties while the german suffered somewhere about 281,000. despite months of heartache, the barely alteredes the front lines, driving them a few miles here and there, but decisive enough to break either side's commitment to holding that sector. battle sputtered to a close, the british organized the ambitious offense of their own. they planned an attack along a 20-mile front, using a portion of the french army. for a solid week, 1400 british

1.5 million shells into german lines. then on july 1, british infantry rolled forward. the british having achieved little destruction with their defenders easily retaliated against the british soldiers, inflicting 30,000 casualties in an hour's time. by the end of the day, that number rose to 57,000. the offensive droned on until november, adding 630,000 casualties toied the roll. but again, doing nothing to break the deadlock. fighting had a particularly devastating effect on the spirit of the survivors. even the most hearty and driven overpowering an urge to cease action, even forit acts of mutiny, just the sake of self-preservation. a lieutenant, a french officer, simply qualitied in his cell hole on june 30. he decided he'd had enough. so he claimed, when his head started buzzing uncontrollably.

in his journal, he simply sat down and waited an to land in thel kill him instantly. soon, wounded men started to him, askinge beside for help. what can we do? they asked. clouds of smoke. the air is unbreathable. everywhere. he described the human wreck j. the wounded groaned in a pool of blood. hit,f them, more seriously are breathing their last. one man has one eye hanging out of his socket. man has no face, an arm blown off. atrociously, they say, lieutenant, i'm suffering, help me. the other implores me to kill

him with these words, lieutenant, if you don't want to, give me your revolver. frightful, terrible moments. we are splattered with mud and earth by the shells. these groans and sup supplications continue. eyes,ie before our without anyone being able to help them. diddramatic loss of life not halt the allies fondness for the offenses. 1917, they only increased the frequency with which they tested offensive perimeter. they would soon knock out their strongest allies. of generals planned a series offenses to ravage the so-called line. and launched the offenses, all they all came to screeching

halts. the germans offered an elastic offense, which allowed allied troops to penetrate the seriously to find more symptoms of interacting fields in the secondary and tertiary lines to the rear. the germ germans minimized their losses, only to retake it again. lost 47,000 men and ended up getting pushed back to an area behind their initial of departure. despite the victories they had achieved in 1917, the german armies elected not to sit 1918.ely in with the u.s. now entering in on the side of the allies, german believed that their armies were under the clock. they had to bring about a thesive victory before american ex p forces entered the fray. the major planned a meticulous

meant offensive, one that to hurl three armies to the front. they utilized attack formation. by 27 reserves, the german armies plowed into the british position, pushing it back some 35 miles. the largest offensive surge on the western front in terms of the entire war. still, german's offensive did goals.ieve its british generals managed to plug their lines with reinforcements. undeterred, they sent four more aattacks in the area. over, another was 680,000 german soldiers had casualties. by the end of the german spring offensive, an important change in the allied war effort. had finally force arrived in significant numbers. the u.s. entered the war back in and after a speedy period of mobilization, the

state had raised 3.6 million soldiers. the first 50,000 arrived at summer, with 250,000 more in 1918.each month, the german's spring offensive last gasp, attacking a newly arrived division. american troops held their sector firm. now charged with coordinating all the allies on the western front, they used the offensive to initiate a counteroffensive own.eir attacking the salient. the offensive went better than anticipated, reducing the enemy pocket by august 8. spurred on by an american general, who was not let his soldiers sit in the trenches for too long, ordered too simultaneously offensives. part ofarily american the offensive counted more than 850,000 troops. fromhis surge lasted september 26 until november 11.

like all the other offenses this, the assault was terribly disappointing. shortfenses stopped well of their objectives, sustained 117,000 casualties, including 26,000 killed. faced americans, fresh and untroubled by years of failure, the war they had theyed was nothing like imagined. although they accepted the death all for what it was, they had hard time accepting the fact that every area, even the rear dirty,ns, were unsanitary and unsafe. 27-year-old corporal ross of the 665th artillery, found himself forefront of the last offensive. on, he notedway the horrible conditions on the road. rain, heuring down noted, as dark as pitch in the woods. we got the order to form single hand on thece a shoulder in front of us. we crossed the stream on a

narrow foot bridge and then were told to sleep anywhere we pleased. my blankets down and in the cold mud i flopped. pillow.at served as a much of his journal described the death of friends who died other than wounds in battle. in early september 1918, he grisly death of a man in his unit who shot himself. he wrote, a soldier of our battery, from oregon, decided he had had enough. he leaned against a tree and put muzzle of his rifle under his chin and pulled the trigger. brains were scattered on the ground. his reason, near as we could out, was he had contracted a venereal disease. managed he was getting worse. he was engaged to a girl in despanand was very department over the trouble -- despondent over the trouble he had gotten into.

they waited to leave france after the war ended. conditions were so miserable and the treatment of u.s. troops so that they went so far as to call it a death camp. but february 1919, more than troops had died. he wrote home. prisons had never been treated so brutally, as all the american soldiers are being that deathht now in camp. we had men die of pneumonia by the hundreds each week. a poem.ched out we've killed a million and tried our beds. we plucked them from our toenails and scratched them from our heads. we have withstood a million inspections. we have loaded ships. we went about our duties with of pep and zest, for we knew it would be heaven when

gotten out of bre last fatigued andwe laid aside our cares they wouldn't even ask us to dust down golden stairs, when the angels bid us welcome, when the whole of kingdom come, then hear st. peter calling sweetly to the blessed, you've eternal happiness, you've done your hitch in breast. four years of conflict had ten million military dead and another six million civilian dead. heavy death toll to swallow. but to some observers, it might if world leaders preserved international peace and security for generations to come. perhaps then the memories of all who perished between 1914 and 1918 might have meaning. the world's leaders had a ready-made solution. spurredue of nations, largely by the philosophy of wilson.t founded as a result of the paris peace conference.

it took up a primary mission of preventing wars. observers, though, had their doubts. back in the united states, a 79-year-old veteran of the american civil war, white, writing a massive recounting his, service in the u.s. army. onto theead piled up floor. army hadar, the union accomplished a terrific thing. it had saved a nation from apart. itself now, white was less keen on the bloodiest the so-far war in human history. hadng seen the way that war changed since the days when he helped kill the southern looked upon the future of armed conflict with great pessimism. reminder, which he used to close his memoir, served

aboutinstructive prompt the bring medica nature of huma. long as we have nations like this, we will have war. strong as we have faithful citizens, we will have bloodily wars. reality is that oppositional devotion can create unbreakable creating war for the sake of it. thus, white, a veteran of a cast his warning upon humankind in the 20th century. my faith in the league of nations to prevent war is very low, he wrote. i cannot see how human ideas and opposition to human ideas can be settled when opposite parties except by force. self-interest generally makes man's interests a second nature, making it impossible for him to abandon it and only when he was

forced to do it. questions handled by the league of nations will, i have no doubt, bring war to the people earth in no small measure. perhaps i am wrong. i hope so. hope so too. thank you very much. [applause] >> join american history tv on former nixon aid describes his extended 1983 former president richard nixon. we'll hear about the topics covered, including vietnam, china, watergate and nixon ease resignation. that's sunday night at 8:00 p.m. time here on american history tv. tv'sweek, american history reel america brings you archival that help tell the story of the 20th